Hot Wheels (TV series)

*Hot Wheels*
Hot Wheels
Genre	Animated series
Created by	Fred Crippen; Eddie Smardan; Ken Snyder
Voices of	Bob Arbogast; Melinda Casey; Casey Kasem; Albert Brooks; Susan Davis; Nora Marlowe; Michael Rye
Theme music composer	Mike Curb
Composer	Jack Fascinato
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	17 (34 segments)
Production
Executive producer	Kenneth C.T. Snyder
Producers	Fred Crippen; Eddie Smardan; Ken Snyder
Camera setup	I
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Ken Snyder Properties; Pantomime Pictures
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	September 6, 1969 –; September 4, 1971

Hot Wheels is a thirty-minute Saturday morning cartoon series broadcast on ABC from 1969 to 1971, under the primary sponsorship of Mattel Toys.^[1] The show took pains to stress that it was "pro-safety", contrasting the safe and responsible behavior of the series' racing-club protagonists with the reckless behavior of their rivals.^[2]

The show was criticized by the Federal Communications Commission, which considered it a half-hour commercial for toy cars. ABC contested the charge, saying that there was no prior commitment to Mattel, and that Hot Wheels cars were never advertised during the program. The network was backed up by the National Association of Broadcasters, and the show remained on the ABC schedule for two seasons.^[2]

Synopsis

The series mainly focused on the racing exploits of a high school student, Jack "Rabbit" Wheeler, who led the Hot Wheels Racing Club.

Voice cast

Bob Arbogast as Doc Warren
Melinda Casey as Janet Martin
Albert Brooks as Kip Chogi
Susan Davis as Ardeth Pratt
Casey Kasem as Dexter Carter
Nora Marlowe as Mother O'Hare
Michael Rye as Jack "Rabbit" Wheeler

Big Race

The Family Car

Fire Fighters

The Jewel

Fake Out - Stake Out

The Buggy Ride

Four Wheel Time Bomb

Hit and Run

It Takes a Team

Ardeth the Demon (Ardeth the Highwayman)

Like Father, Like Son

Avalanche Country

Danger Around the Clock

Tough Cop

Hotter Than the Devils

Underground

Rough Ride (The Test)

Race to Space

Monkey a-Okay

Diamonds Are a Girls Worst Friend

Big Heart, Little Hearts

Get Back on That Horse

Hitchhike to Danger

Dragon's Tooth Peak

The Doc Warren Trophy Race

Show-Off

Drag Strip

Mata Hari Ardeth

Slicker-Slicks

FCC action

Some time during the show's broadcast, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) received complaints from toy companies who argued that it was actually a thirty-minute commercial for the toys; one of them was Topper Toys, a rival to Mattel.^[3] The FCC obliged by ordering stations to log part of the airings as advertising time.^[3]^[4]

References

^ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. pp. 142–143. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
^ ^a ^b Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 416–417. ISBN 978-1476665993.
^ ^a ^b Owen, David (1988). "The Man Who Invented Saturday Morning". The Man Who Invented Saturday Morning—and Other Adventures in American Enterprise (Essay). Villard Books (Random House). pp. 174–175. ISBN 0-394-56810-9.
^ Wojahn, Ellen (1988). "Team Play". Playing by Different Rules. American Management Association (amacom). pp. 98–99. ISBN 0-8144-5861-0.

External links

Hot Wheels at IMDb

[Woolery-1] Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. pp. 142–143. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.

[Erickson-2] Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 416–417. ISBN 978-1476665993.

[owen-3] Owen, David (1988). "The Man Who Invented Saturday Morning". The Man Who Invented Saturday Morning—and Other Adventures in American Enterprise (Essay). Villard Books (Random House). pp. 174–175. ISBN 0-394-56810-9.

[rules-4] Wojahn, Ellen (1988). "Team Play". Playing by Different Rules. American Management Association (amacom). pp. 98–99. ISBN 0-8144-5861-0.

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v t e Hot Wheels
Television series	Hot Wheels Heroes on Hot Wheels Battle Force 5 Ultimate Challenge Let's Race
Films	World Race AcceleRacers Team Hot Wheels
Video games	Hot Wheels Stunt Track Driver Turbo Racing Crash! Micro Racers Planet Hot Wheels Extreme Racing Burnin' Rubber Velocity X World Race Stunt Track Challenge Ultimate Racing Beat That! Battle Force 5 Track Attack World's Best Driver Forza Horizon: Hot Wheels expansions 3 5 Unleashed Unleashed 2: Turbocharged
Category Commons

v t e Children's programming on the American Broadcasting Company in the 1960s
First-run animated series	Rocky and His Friends (1959–1973) The New Casper Cartoon Show (1963–1970) Hoppity Hooper (1964–1967) The Beatles (1965–1969) The Porky Pig Show Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales Milton the Monster (1965–1968) The King Kong Show (1966–1969) The Fantastic Four (1967–1970) Spider-Man (1967–1970) Journey to the Center of the Earth (1967–1969) George of the Jungle (1967–1970) The Adventures of Gulliver (1968–1970) Fantastic Voyage (1968–1970) The Smokey Bear Show (1969-1970) The Cattanooga Cats Show (1969–1971) Hot Wheels (1969–1971) The Hardy Boys (1969–1971) Skyhawks (1969–1971)
First-run live-action series	Lunch with Soupy Sales (1959–1961) The Magic Land of Allakazam (1962–1964) Discovery (1962–1971) American Bandstand (1957–1987) Shenanigans (1964–1965)
Rebroadcasts	Top Cat (1962–1963) The Bugs Bunny Show (1962–1968) My Friend Flicka The Jetsons (1962–1964) Beany and Cecil (1962–1988) Buffalo Bill, Jr. Annie Oakley The Magilla Gorilla Show Linus the Lionhearted (1966–1969)
Related	Golden age of American animation Animation in the United States in the television era